Responsive spaces: The London Festival of Architecture explores the future of the modern workspace

Responsive spaces: The London Festival of Architecture explores the future of the modern workspace

TREExOFFICE, an unlikely workspace in the canopy of a tree in Hoxton Square, is an attempt - in part - to rethink parks

TREExOFFICE, an unlikely workspace in the canopy of a tree in Hoxton Square, is an attempt - in part - to rethink parks

This year’s London Festival of Architecture focuses on the increasing use of unconventional workspaces across the capital. As the nature of work continues to change, so too does the working environment. Remote working has freed employees up from their workstations; at the same time, myriad start-ups and sole-traders have taken space in shared offices, which are springing up across cities worldwide.

The London-based architectural practice Gensler is exploring this phenomenon in its debate ’Why Keep Work in the Office When We Can Have the City?’ The panellists will grapple with issues such as: How will office environments change to counter or embrace this trend? What will future ’Third Spaces’ become? And how can these spaces respond in order to better support the industry clusters that they are embedded in?’

RIBA’s event, ’The Changing Face of Workspace’, pushes this theme further still, questioning whether these changes and the way we work have a greater impact on us than we might expect.

Meanwhile, as digital technology allows work to become ever-more invasive, the effect this is having on our sleep and well-being is discussed at ’Hypnos: The Architecture of Sleep’. This panel debate, which accompanies Sto Werkstatt’s exhibition on sleep, asks: ’What does it say about a company that provides a bed, on the proviso that you are available 24/7?’ Sleep neuroscientist Professor Jim Horne will be on the panel hoping to throw light on the subject.

This year’s event illustrates many different futures for our working lives – but one thing participants do agree on is that almost continual change is now a given.

Up to eight people can book a spot in the temporary co-working space and use the tree's WiFi

Up to eight people can book a spot in the temporary co-working space and use the tree's WiFi

In this show, designers Sean Cassidy and Joe Wilson have imagined what our working lives could be like in 2050

In this show, designers Sean Cassidy and Joe Wilson have imagined what our working lives could be like in 2050

The duo have brought together technology and nature, and present - among other ideas - a world in which staff harvest their lunch

The duo have brought together technology and nature, and present - among other ideas - a world in which staff harvest their lunch

The show explores conceptual blueprints related to the evolution of our working environment and asks the question 'what if?'

The show explores conceptual blueprints related to the evolution of our working environment and asks the question 'what if?'

A healthy, functioning city needs to balance limited land with the need for jobs and infrastructure. Three such projects in Eindhoven, London and New York are presented in the LFA's keynote debate, The Working City: Eindhoven, London, New York, followed by panel discussion to thrash out this pressing issue.

A healthy, functioning city needs to balance limited land with the need for jobs and infrastructure. Three such projects in Eindhoven, London and New York are presented in the LFA's keynote debate, The Working City: Eindhoven, London, New York, followed by panel discussion to thrash out this pressing issue.

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